


Doubts

by ssorrell



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: A Stitch in Time - Andrew Robinson, Deleted Scenes, Established Relationship, M/M, Married Life, Multi, Sleeptalking, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-15 17:32:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11235837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ssorrell/pseuds/ssorrell
Summary: (A fluffy little scene that I revived from an otherwise-abandoned chapter of Notions.)As their anniversary approaches, Garak thinks that even another day with his partners is too generous of a gift.  This does not, however, stop him from pressuring Julian to share what he and Parmak have planned for him.





	Doubts

When prompted, I used to reply that my preferred activity was reading.  It was at the same time engaging and relaxing, and I liked nothing better than operating on two different levels at once.

Over the years, however, my preferences gradually changed.

I arrived home one evening after a particularly lengthy congressional meeting and picked up my PADD almost as an afterthought on the way to the bedroom.  I expected to find my partners there already, and was not disappointed in my intuition or my discovery.

The window was open, welcoming in a soft breeze to curl the edges of the curtains and cool the room.  Despite the generous size of the mattress, Parmak and Bashir were pressed close together in the middle of it, balancing their body temperatures.  I knew the practice well; I would do my best not to disturb them unless they looked uncomfortable.  Parmak was likely still awake, anyway, but was pretending to be asleep for Bashir’s benefit.  He never believed our claims that we required less sleep than he did, so many of our nights began in the blurry middleground, trying to read while Bashir carried on semi-lucid conversations with us.

I set my PADD down on Bashir’s abandoned pillow and quietly took my place on the bed.

When I tucked my chin over Bashir’s shoulder, he gave a momentary shiver.

“Mmm… morning,” Bashir offered.

“Not yet, my dear,” I gently corrected him then tried to soothe him back to sleep, massaging his temple, stroking his hair, and drawing lines through the grey.  

Parmak stirred and turned over, blinking slowly until he met my eyeline.

“Shh,” he offered, too late.  

“You have _plenty_ of time left to sleep, my dear,” I continued.  “I’m here now, I’ll look after you.”

“Mmm,” Bashir said again.

“My thoughts exactly.”

My fingers traced down from Bashir’s hair to his neck, his spine, then over to rest on his hip.  I saw him moving beneath the blanket to copy this pattern on Parmak.

He settled his hand there, bridging the warm and soft skin with the cool and calloused.

I gave a fleeting glance to my PADD but ultimately returned my attention to Parmak, who covered his mouth and yawned, then slid his hand down to meet Bashir’s.

“What was the discussion this evening?” Parmak inquired about my consultancy meeting.

“Export security, the same as it’s been for weeks,” I replied. “I’m sure it was much more engaging here at home.”

“Shh,” he said again, tapping his chin. “ _Anniversary gifts_.”

Bashir had a longstanding habit of moving while he slept.  And of speaking.  He explained, after the first occasion years ago, that this meant he felt safe despite the vulnerability.  I considered it a compliment and a challenge.

“Anniversary gifts?” I repeated, slightly louder.

I rubbed his stomach until he sighed and detached himself from Parmak, rolling over to mumble against my neck instead.

“Hmm, ‘s nice,” he said.

“I find myself in complete agreement, my dear,” I said.

“Really, for Kelas?  You think he’ll like it?”

“Oh, I’m confident.”

Parmak rolled his eyes at me.  I pulled Bashir in closer.  

Bashir shifted, dislodging Parmak’s head from its perch on his folded arm, and spoke urgently to me.

“I didn’t tell him how much I love him today, did you?”

“Every waking moment, my dear,” I assured.

“Huh.”

“You’re absolutely shameless,” Parmak chided.

“And for you, Elim, we planned-” Bashir began, but Parmak caught him and pressed his nails into his shoulder.  This was the fastest way to wake him.

“Oh, it’s you,” Bashir said in defeat, and returned sleepily to the place Parmak made for him in his arms.

None of him touched me, anymore.  I scooped up my PADD and resigned myself to revising my trade reports.

“Serves you right,” Parmak said lightly. “And it’s meant to get _cold_ tonight.”

I could see the cuff of lace on his sleeve, draped over Bashir’s back.

“Hmm, I’ve been recommending you wear something more practical to bed for at _least_ a decade now, Kelas.”

He tugged defensively at his sleeve, until it was rolled up and out of my sight.

“I don’t need to.  You see, I have a human husband who’s _very_ fond of me.”

Bashir smiled and failed to resist the endearingly human urge to kiss something.  This time it was Parmak, somewhere near the middle of his neck.  Reflexively, the scales swelled at this.  I chuckled, fondly, and turned away.

“I also have a Cardassian husband who _I’m_ very fond of,” Parmak offered his arm in my direction.

“I would hope so,” I said, refusing his hand. “Fourteen years is much too long to simply tolerate anyone.  But the doubt _had_ crossed my mind.”

Parmak rubbed Bashir’s back to ensure he was sleeping, then lowered his voice and leaned in as close as he could to me.  The glow from my PADD made his eyes glimmer in the darkness, so they looked even deeper and more concerned than usual.  

“Is something wrong, Elim?”

I swallowed and coughed in the wrong order, which did nothing to help my case.

“No, I don’t think so,” I said.

“I didn’t mean to create any distance for more than a moment, I promise,” Parmak continued, heartbroken. “Come this way, let me hold you, I’ll read to you.”

I ducked into his arm as directed, and he pulled the blanket up over Bashir and I, before settling down on his stomach so he could maintain his reach.

“I’ve never doubted you,” I explained. “Fourteen years is just… it’s longer than I’ve ever been comfortable.  And at the cost of what?  My planet?  I don’t feel I deserve the things that are going right, Kelas - there are too many of them.  I was built to distrust them.”

“You’ve worked for every single one,” Parmak replied, “and there is no shame in enjoying what you’ve worked for.”

“I married a radical,” I said, in overly saturated sarcasm.  

“Two,” mumbled Bashir, trying to raise his hand despite the blanket.

“Oh, _go to sleep_ ,” I instructed, at the same time Parmak gently shushed him.

“We’re a very good match, you see,” Parmak’s voice was muffled by his pillow.

“Now _that_ ,” I said, “I have never doubted, not for a moment.”

“Mmm,” Parmak sighed, pleased.

He tapped me and offered his hand.  When I placed my PADD in it, he turned to lay on his back, cleared his throat, and read my reports to me.

“‘...Ensuring routes from Cardassia Prime are checked at four security points on the way out of...'”

I was confident, then, that the thing I enjoyed most was being read to.


End file.
